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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Corliss Williamson is already making
a significant impact for the Detroit Pistons.
Williamson, acquired by the Pistons on Feb. 22 in a five-player
trade deadline deal with Toronto, is averaging 16.5 points in eight
games with Detroit, including a season-best 26 in Sunday's 95-78
rout of the Indiana Pacers.
"Corliss has been a huge addition for us on both ends of the
floor," Pistons coach George Irvine said. "Not only does he give
us a scoring weapon off the bench, but he works as hard as anyone
on defense. I knew he could play from his days in Sacramento, but
he's a better all-around player than I realized."
Williamson has specialized in finishing fast breaks, which has
led to a sparkling 61.6 shooting percentage.
"Everyone on this team runs the floor, so it has been easy to
pick up some points," he said. "They do a great job of getting me
the ball where I want it, and that lets me takes some pressure off
Jerry (Stackhouse)."
The win was Detroit's second in a row, and gave the Pistons just
their fourth multigame winning streak of the season.
"This is a huge win for us, because it gets us within four
games of Indiana for the last playoff spot," said Stackhouse, who
led Detroit with 30 points. "We're playing really well, thanks to
Corliss and Ben (Wallace). I don't know where we would be without
those two."
It was also Detroit's first win in four tries against the Isiah
Thomas-coached Pacers this year. Thomas is Detroit's career leader
in points, assists and steals.
"We just didn't shoot the ball well," Thomas said. "Detroit
played hard, and I take nothing from them, but we missed some
wide-open looks."
Joe Smith and Chucky Atkins added 14 each for Detroit, while
Wallace had 17 rebounds.
"Jerry had 30 points and Ben had 17 rebounds, and we barely
even notice any more," Irvine said. "That's how good they are
playing."
Al Harrington scored 17 points to lead Indiana. Reggie Miller
and Jalen Rose each scored 11 points and combined to shoot 8-for-30
for 22 points, 18 short of their season average.
"In the games against Detroit before, I got wide-open shots,
but tonight I always had a hand in my face," Miller said. "This
is the most I have seen Detroit lock in defensively."
Detroit led 49-44 at the half, thanks to 16 points from reserve
Williamson. Detroit held Indiana to 35.3 percent shooting in the
half, including a combined 3-of-15 from Miller and Rose.
The Pistons started the second half with an 11-4 run, increasing
the margin to 12, but the Pacers put together a 12-0 run late in
the period that included two triples from Miller.
That moved the Pacers within three, and Detroit led by only
67-62 at period's end.
Stackhouse started the fourth with two free throws, and Atkins'
3-pointer made it 72-62.
That keyed a 15-4 run that put the Pistons ahead 82-66 with 7:48
to go. Stackhouse had 10 points in the surge.
Game notes
Indiana had 13 offensive rebounds in the first half as
opposed to just two for Detroit. Indiana entered having allowed
more offensive rebounds than all but two other NBA teams. ... The
loss snapped Indiana's winning streak against Detroit at six games,
one short of their longest ever. ... Mateen Cleaves had a
frightening fall when he flipped over Terry Mills and landed on his
back from about 5 feet up. Cleaves stayed down for several moments,
but eventually walked off the court under his own power and shot
the free throws after a timeout.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Indiana Clubhouse
Detroit Clubhouse
RECAPS
New York 86
Miami 83
Philadelphia 97
Boston 91
Toronto 101
Vancouver 84
Sacramento 105
Utah 90
Detroit 95
Indiana 78
Cleveland 124
Milwaukee 110
Phoenix 94
Houston 92
Dallas 111
LA Clippers 93
Seattle 109
LA Lakers 97
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